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User Name Thread Name Subject Posted
GUEST,Paul Slade Gallows Ballads: Victorian London (18) RE: Gallows Ballads: Victorian London 24 Jun 10


I've just added four more vintage gallows ballads to my site. You'll find the full lyrics there, plus details of the true crime that inspired them and a gallery of the broadsheets themselves.

The new additions are:

The Life & Trial of Palmer (1856)
Boozy, gambling doctor poisons family and friends to clear his debts. Hanged at Stafford Gaol, but survives as footnote in the Sherlock Holmes stories.

The Silent Grove (1838)
Young man gets his girlfriend pregnant, then kills both her and the baby to avoid responsibility. One of many Bloody Miller/ Berkshire Tragedy variants – a combination of which eventually became Knoxville Girl.

The Liverpool Lodger (1849)
Evil lodger slaughters family and robs them. Victims include pregnant mother and two very young boys.

The Unnatural Murder (1618)
Disguised sailor returns home to his parents, hoping to surprise them with his new-found wealth. They mistake him for a stranger, kill him, and steal his gold.


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